"An author's first duty is to let down his country."

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“I only drink on two occasions — When I am thirsty and when I'm not.”

“When I came back to Dublin, I was courtmartialled in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”

“I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer.”

“As regards drink, I can only say that in Dublin during the Depression when I was growing up, drunkenness was not regarded as a social disgrace. To get enough to eat was regarded as an achievement. To get drunk was a victory.”

“The sun was in mind to come out but having a look at the weather it was in lost heart and went back again.”

“He was born an Englishman and remained one for years.”

Resonant Thoughts

"In the first piece that you Beckett wrote about me , you never once used the word color. That was important. I was struck by it."

— Bram van Velde

Art1895–1981

#writing

"There is no doubt that to-day feeling in totalitarian countries is, or they would like it to be, one of contempt for democracy. Whether it is the feeling of the fox which has lost its brush for his br…"

— Stanley Baldwin

Politics1867–1947

#time

"In a rainstorm, everyone quickly runs down the street with umbrellas, raincoats, newspapers over their heads. Writers go back outside in the rain with a notebook in front of them and a pen in hand. Th…"

— Natalie Goldberg

Literature1948

#writing